Them Days
by Glenn P. Booth
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GENRE: Fiction - Historical - Coming of Age
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BLURB:
“This heartfelt story grabs the reader from the very start and doesn’t let go. Fans of historical fiction are in for a treat.”– The Prairies Book Review
Discrimination, war in Europe, a pandemic. . .
Sofiya, a young Ukrainian immigrant, experiences all of this and more. It could be 2022, but it's Manitoba in the early 1900s.
Sofiya is the third consecutive girl born on a poor homestead near Gimli in 1903. She is bright and feisty but nothing more is expected of her than to be a domestic, and at age thirteen she is sent to be a maid to a wealthy family in Winnipeg. There, she experiences the condescension of the English towards the 'Bohunks', while her half-brother is interned during WW1, deemed an enemy alien.
While the Great War is raging in Europe, an undeclared war between the classes is being fought at home. This conflict comes to a head in the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 when the working classes rise up against their English masters, shut down the city and demand a better deal. The city is divided and everyone must choose a side.
Them Days takes you on Sofiya's journey, as she discovers what it means to be an immigrant and a woman, struggling to find love and her identity – at the same time that Canada is breaking free from Mother England's apron strings.
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EXCERPT
“In them days, we wuz poor but happy.”
You’re probably laughing at how trite this is. But I’ve heard my sister Helen, and several other members of my family, speak those exact words more times than I care to remember. And it’s exactly how they remember “Them Days.”
For us, Them Days goes back to growing up north of Winnipeg on marginal farmland at the turn of the 20th century. Like tens of thousands of Ukrainian and other Eastern European immigrants, my family had come searching for a better life in Canada, lured by the promise of free land.
For the most part, the promises were kept, although, as it would turn out, a few “extras” were thrown into the deal. Unfortunately for my family, like many Ukrainians, they had requested land with wood on it. Back in the old country, they had often frozen through long winters on the Steppes because of a lack of wood for building fires. The Canadian government’s land agent obliged, and they were given some scratchy stony ground near Gimli, Manitoba, where the fertile prairie gives way to swampy Boreal forest. But it had wood!
With this endowment, it was bound to be a hard life. But my sister still remembers it as a time of happiness.
Memories—how they play tricks on us—and how they vary from person to person. It never ceases to amaze me how my family members remember the same events so differently.
It was a warm June day in 1982, the last time the seven of us who had survived to late adulthood had gotten together for an informal family reunion. We were sitting in my youngest sister’s trailer, which was parked on the old family homestead. None of us were regular drinkers, but the occasion had inspired my brothers to have a little whiskey, and my sisters and I were sipping some white wine.
Sure enough, whether it was the heat, the alcohol, or just our age and the occasion, my siblings waxed maudlin. And it didn’t take long before Helen spoke those familiar words, “In them days…,” and my brothers nodded in agreement. Soon, happy stories of Them Days came pouring out like a prairie river spilling over its banks in the spring.
A Word With the Author:
1.Did you always want to be an author?
A. Not as a child. I started to get more seriously interested in being an author in my late 20s. I think life experience helps, at least in my case.
2.Tell us about the publication of your first book.
A. My first book is a murder mystery/police procedural that draws heavily on my work experience regulating the oil and gas industry in Canada. It was self-published through FriesenPress Publishing. As I am sure is the case for most authors, it was quite the learning experience.
3.Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre you write in?
A. My first novel was a murder mystery – my favourite authors in that genre are P.D. James and Peter Robinson. Both are British novelists with the plots set in England, although Peter Robinson is now a Canadian.
My second novel is historical fiction. My favourite author in that genre is probably Ambrose Parry, the husband/wife team who write the Will Raven / Sarah Fisher murder mystery series that is set in Edinburgh around 1850. These books fall into the categories of both murder mystery and historical fiction, nicely combining my two favourite genres!
4.What's the best part of being an author? The worst?
I’d say that the best part of being an author is getting positive feedback from readers that your story was meaningful to them and touched them in some way.
The worst part is being rejected by publishers and trying to market your novel to seemingly indifferent people.
5.What are you working on now?
It’s a children’s/adolescent’s story about the life of a robin, a bit in the style of “Silverwing” by Kenneth Oppel.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Glenn was born and raised in Winnipeg, where he lived with his Ukrainian grandmother, Helen Lesko, after he and his brother were orphaned just before his fourteenth birthday. He grew up listening to Helen’s stories about ‘Them Days’ growing up on the homestead near Gimli, and life in Winnipeg in the late 1910s and 1920s.
Glenn attended the University of Manitoba and the University of Alberta where he respectively obtained his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts (Economics) degrees. Among other jobs, he subsequently worked with Canada’s National Energy Board, where he held positions including Chief Economist, Executive Director of Corporate Planning and External Relations, and Executive Director of Communications and Human Resources.
Glenn has published one other novel, Demons in Every Man, a murder mystery set in the Calgary oil patch, published by Friesen Press in 2019.
The author lives in Calgary with his Brazilian-born wife of 36 years, Elisabeth. Glenn and Elisabeth have two grown sons who are now successfully making their way in the world. Glenn enjoys returning to Winnipeg every summer to visit with his cousins and old friends, and to enjoy cottage life on Lake Winnipeg. While in Calgary, he loves scrambling and hiking in the Rockies, as well as mountain biking and X-country skiing with friends. Of course, Glenn is also an avid reader.
CONNECT WITH GLENN P. BOOTH
WEBSITE https://glennpboothauthor.com/
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/GlennPBooth
BUY THEM DAYS
AMAZON.COM https://amazon.com/dp/0228878438
AMAZON.CA https://amazon.ca/dp/0228878438
INDIGO CHAPTERS https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/them-days/9780228878452-item.html
BARNES & NOBLE https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/them-days-glenn-p-booth/1141393328
BOOK DEPOSITORY https://www.bookdepository.com/Them-Days-Glenn-P-Booth/9780228878438
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Glenn P. Booth will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting me! Glenn
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ReplyDeleteReally nice cover and excerpt, looking forward to reading this!
What books do you recommend starting out with for your backlist?
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds very interesting. Great cover!
ReplyDeleteIn response to xjanelx, who asked what books do I recommend, here are a couple:
ReplyDeleteWhere the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Maybe pretty obvious as it was on the NY Times bestseller list for 2 years, but it is a beautiful novel that is both real and dreamlike at the same time.
The Orenda and Three Day Road by Joseph Boynton are both powerful stories about First Nations' experiences - while the First Nations' people lived in Canada, the stories are relevant to anyone in interested in our shared history with First Nations, whether in the US or Canada.
A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews is a powerful story of a young woman growing up in the suffocating confines of a Mennonite town in southern Manitoba. Again, while being a Canadian story, it is relevant to anyone who has felt the "complicated kindness" behind well-intentioned, but inflexible religious people. (Winner of the Governor General's award for fiction and shortlisted for the Giller prize.)
The Overstory by Richard Powers. A tough read, but a very moving story about the life of trees, our relation to them, and the indifference/ignorance of so much of American society to the great forests in the US.
Which of your characters do you relate to the most and why?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great story. I like historical fiction.
ReplyDeleteAs a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
ReplyDeleteHow long on average does it take you to write a book?
ReplyDeleteIn response to xjanelx78's question about which characters do I relate most to and why:
ReplyDeleteIn my first novel, the protagonist, Tara McCauley, has ADHD. Although I was never officially diagnosed, I am 99.99% sure I fell (fall?) into that group and a few people I have met who have seriously studied ADHD told me that 'that's pretty obvious Glenn'. Like Tara, I am easily distracted, have difficulty focussing on what's going on, often think absurd things while people are talking to me, etc. On the plus side, I like to think I have an active imagination and that my brain is good at making connections between things that other people don't easily see (what's the matter with them!!?). So I definitely identify with that part of her personality.
In my second novel, Them Days, I guess I 'relate' to Sofiya, the protagonist. Although I don't think I'm that much like her, I relate in the sense that she embodies what I observed in my grandmother and her family members - resilience. They lived through a lot of discrimination (internment of Ukrainians in Canada during WW1), WW1 itself, the Spanish flu, the Great Depression and WW2 - we have had it so much easier! So I relate to Sofiya in the sense that I admire her like I admired many of the elderly people in my life.
In response to xjanelx78's question about what avatar/spirit animal I would take:
ReplyDeleteWow, no one's ever asked me that. But I think I would pick a gazelle or a deer on the Canadian prairie. I like the idea of feeling boundless energy in my legs and being able to run free and cover enormous tracts of land.
Of course, it's hard to resist the idea of the bald eagle flying free and seeing all below him with that "20,000" foot view.
In response to xjanelx78's question about how long it takes me to write a book:
ReplyDeleteSee my answer to your question about which of my characters I relate to! Re the ADHD, I get spurts of energy during which I write a lot and make a lot of progress, and then I get distracted and months can go by without writing a page. Sad, but that's the way it's been with my first two novels. The upshot has been that it has taken me 2 - 3 years to write each novel, but actual research/writing time is much much less. If only I could stay focussed for a sustained period, I think it would take more like 4 - 6 months, while still maintaining my regular life stuff like hiking, scrambling, mountain biking, reading, socializing, etc.
Hope these answers make sense. cheers, Glenn
How do you select the names of your characters?
ReplyDeleteNothing magic about choosing names. For my historical fiction novel with Ukrainian figures, I looked at historical accounts of people of the time and just chose some names that appealed to me. Of course, you can also look up the etymology of a name that you think matches your character's personality and pick something that reflects those personality traits.
ReplyDeleteWhat part of the book was the most fun to write?
ReplyDeleteWhat would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
ReplyDeleteIf you could meet your characters, what would you say to them?
ReplyDeleteIn response to xjanelx78's questions, "Wow, you have a lot of questions! Are you asking all authors the same questions and conducting a sturdy?"
ReplyDeleteFor me, the most fun parts of a novel to write are the action scenes. So in Them Days, the burning down of the homestead, the NWMP riding down Main Street and shooting strikers, and Sofiya's frantic search for Mikhail before he is deported.
I'm not sure that I have an interesting writing quirk - I think that would be for readers to tell me.
For most of the characters in Them Days, I would tell them how much I admired them for their fortitude, resilience and adaptability.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
ReplyDeleteHave you read any of the old classics? What did you think of them?
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great Sunday!
ReplyDeleteI think one of the most surprising things for me personally was that I could write dialogue reasonably well and enjoyed it. I had thought that dialogue would be difficult and descriptive writing would be easy - but it turned out to be the reverse. I don't think I'm particulary good at description. Consider someone like James Lee Burke, who is fantastic at it (although perhaps a bit overdone).
ReplyDeleteOld classics are old "classics" for a good reason - they're great! Of course, like most things, writing has generally improved with time, but I think any young aspiring writer can't go wrong by reading some of the classics (e.g Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Emile Zola, Balzac, Jane Austen, etc.)
ReplyDeleteWhat author do you look up to the most?
ReplyDeleteWhat book are you the most proud of writing?
ReplyDeleteNot sure what author I look up to the most. Two that come to mind are Charles Dickens and J.K. Rowling. Dickens because he exposed the dark side of capitalism in a very public way, and raised the consciousness of millions upon millions to the plight of the poor - at a time when business/royalty held sway. J.K. Rowling because she was able to write one of the most brilliantly conceived series as a single mom, and she had the vision and fortitude to follow through. The Harry Potter series is also remarkable for its consistent ingenuity and high quality through 7 volumes (although there are a few dips). It also tells a story of vital importance for our time; i.e. that of accepting "others", befriending people who are different than us, and rejecting ideas of superiority through bloodlines.
ReplyDeleteHands down - Them Days. I believe it tells an important story about a little known part of Canadian history and honours the memory of all the Ukrainian immigrants whose industriousness and perseverance helped build the Canada of today.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?
ReplyDeleteWhat is a significant way your book has changed since the first draft?
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great Friday and weekend!
ReplyDeleteDo you have a favorite book you've written?
ReplyDeleteWhat comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday, hope you have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteCan you share with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?
ReplyDeleteWhat inspired the idea for your book?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?
ReplyDeleteWhat books have you read more than once in your life?
ReplyDeleteHow do you come up with the titles to your books?
ReplyDeleteWhat books have I read more than once in my life? The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Harry Potter series. Other than that, not too many.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever traveled as research for your book?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you hope your readers take away from this book?
ReplyDeleteWhat advice would you give a new writer, someone just starting out?
ReplyDeleteDid you have any say in designing the cover?
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday, hope you have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteHow long did it take you to write this book?
ReplyDeleteDo you enjoy writing more than reading?
ReplyDeleteAre you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about?
ReplyDeleteWhat book is currently on your bedside table?
ReplyDeleteI'm starting work on a new novel for adolescents based on the life of a robin, "Robby Robinson". Hopefully it will be exciting as well as educational.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
ReplyDeleteDoes writing energize or exhaust you? Or both?
ReplyDeleteHappy Saturday! Hope you have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteIf you didn’t write, what would you do for work?
ReplyDeleteWhat did you do with your first advance?
ReplyDeleteWhat question do you wish that someone would ask about your book, but nobody has?
ReplyDeleteIs there anything specific that inspired this book?
ReplyDeleteIs there any advice that you got early on about writing that has stuck with you?
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday! I hope you have a great holiday weekend!
ReplyDeleteWhat was your favorite chapter and why?
ReplyDeleteWhich authors do you admire and why?
ReplyDeleteSorry xjanelx - too many questions to answer! I will say that writing both energizes and exhausts me, but when it goes well it leans more to the energizing side.
ReplyDeleteDo you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
ReplyDeleteHow many books have you written and which is your favorite?
ReplyDeleteHave any of your books been made into audiobooks? If so, what are the challenges in producing an audio book?
ReplyDeleteDo you have a strict writing schedule or do you just write when you want to?
ReplyDeleteWhat was the highlight of writing this book?
ReplyDeleteIf you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose?
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